Benjamin Nolot, Founder of the nationally recognized organization Exodus Cry, shares his thoughts and opinions on the recent FBI nation-wide sex trafficking sweep and the two minors recovered in Kansas City.
Our team was deeply encouraged to hear of the two minors recovered in the Kansas City area, as well as the 100 victimized minors identified and recovered in the FBI’s recent nationwide trafficking sweep. The tireless efforts of the FBI, local law enforcement, and abolitionists are absolutely making a tangible impact on the lives of those bound in modern-day slavery. They’re bringing a chance for new life to those exploited and they’re making it harder for traffickers to be profitable.
And while we celebrate this victory, we can’t help but recognize there are millions more who are still waiting for freedom. We must collectively fight to reach them as well. But even more than that, it’s critical that we focus on uprooting this larger system of exploitation. There’s a reason why 12-year-old girls are being sold for sex. It’s because 12-year-old girls are in demand by men who are willing to pay for them. Simply put, this system of exploitation is an industry and it’s fueled by the money of sex buyers.
The way to break this system is actually very straightforward: we must target demand. That means we need to make it as hard as possible for buyers to get what they want. This can be accomplished through stronger laws, outreach to those being exploited, outreach to sex buyers, and also through a massive shift in the way society understands prostitution. There is no such thing as a “child prostitute.” Any minor being sold for sex is, by legal definition, a victim of trafficking. So how can the average American citizen make a difference in this fight? By acknowledging the victimhood of countless individuals being sold in the sex industry and letting that influence how we think and talk about them, how we vote in laws that affect them, and how we give of our resources to fight for them.
If you’re interested in learning more about the key to ending sex trafficking check out our animated video at exoduscry.com/abolition.
– Benjamin Nolot